"Demakes" Competition Yields Hilarious Results

Last month a group of rogue developers pulled out all the stops to offer some imaginative retro takes on current gaming hits - now it's time to vote for your favorite.

With the recent Bootleg Demakes Competition now drawn to a close, voting is still ongoing on the massive collection of independently developed entries. Organized by independent gaming site TIGSource, the month-long competition held in August challenged developers from its forum community to concoct their own interpretations of modern games remade through the creative lens of old school gaming systems.

"The term 'demake' was most likely coined by one Phil Fish to describe a remake of a game on older-generation hardware (or, more likely, a remake that is made to look as though it were running on older-generation hardware)," explains TIGSource's Derek Yu on the site. "The most obvious demake is, of course, the 3d-to-2d demake."

Competitors were tasked with creating their bootlegs by using only 100 percent original content; no ripping of sprites or use of trademarked names was allowed. Additionally, the objective was to modify the game's mechanics in an interesting way that highlights unique aspects of the title. A total of 68 completed entries were submitted, resulting in a uniquely hilarious and inventive collection of gaming hits from the recent past, present, and future re-imagined in quasi-retro form.

Judging by the quality and scope of the wide range of games submitted, the competition sparked the flow of creative juices. Some of the more notable entries include Fillauth (Fallout), Corner's Shiny (Mirror's Edge), Gang Garrison II (pictured, Team Fortress 2), Heroes in Guitar Land (Guitar Hero), Sexy Seaside Beachball (Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball), and Super 3D Portal 6 (Portal). Voting on competition submissions is open until Oct. 3.